The Humble Podcaster

Ah, the True Fan. The reason for this entire second season is finally here! So what is a True Fan exactly, and how do they differ from Subscribers? Chris walks us through that exact explanation, and if you’re a business that started a podcast to benefit your bottom line, you’ll be happy to know that Subscribers are all about supporting your podcast by way of dollar, dollar bills y’all. Chris also gives a helpful formula for calculating the number of True Fans you have and explains what’s next for The Humble Podcaster.

Show Notes:

• Chris describes a True Fan, starting with his own fandom of his favorite band, and how it relates to podcasting (00:15)
• How True Fans differ from Subscribers (01:42)
• Calculating how many True Fans you have (03:13)
• Chris’ advice for corporate podcasts and why the True Fan concept is crucial for podcasts created as part of the bottom line (05:02)
• What’s next for The Humble Podcaster (06:50)

Links: 

• Kevin Kelly’s 1,000 True Fans Concept: https://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/ 
• The Humble Podcaster Newsletter: https://www.humblepod.com/subscribe-to-the-humble-podcaster/ 

This episode starts off at a familiar junction for many podcasters - the Grand Chasm between you and your listeners. You know they’re there, and you know they’re listening, but you don’t have direct access to them… until they become Subscribers. In this Stage of The Listener Lifecycle, Chris explains how to convert Followers to Subscribers, the upside to creating audience portability, and why knowing your audience is the key to successfully monetizing your podcast. 

Show Notes:

• We find Chris at the Grand Chasm in Podcasting, where he introduces the bridge that gives you direct access to your listeners - The Subscriber Stage (00:20)
• What are the different types of Subscribers? (01:05)
• How to add value for your Subscribers (02:25)
• Why the changes at Twitter speak to the importance of building a portable audience (04:15)
• How subscribers translate to revenue, and why it’s critical to know your audience (06:09)

Links: 

• THP Episode - How to Start a Podcast: Developing your Podcast: https://www.humblepod.com/podcast/developing-your-podcast-concept/ 
• Masters of Scale with Brian Chesky: https://mastersofscale.com/brian-chesky/#WAIT_WHAT-player-2d08f85a-baf3-48b4-8815-16fa295037e6
• “The upsides (and downsides) of angering one of the world's richest men” by Aaron Rupar: https://aaronrupar.substack.com/p/aaron-rupar-twitter-suspension-elon-musk 
• Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://www.humblepod.com/subscribe 

A new Follower has appeared: congratulations! You’re halfway to creating another True Fan.

The Follower stage of The Listener Lifecycle is an interesting one. They’ve committed to your show, but they aren’t necessarily actively listening. In fact, there’s really only one way to identify your Followers and convert them to True Fans - you have to engage them. How? Don’t worry, it doesn’t involve a diamond ring. Listen in as Chris explains the Follower stage on this episode of The Humble Podcaster! 

Show Notes:

• Chris pontificates on the age-old question, “What is a Follower?” (00:15)
• What happens in the Follower stage? (02:23)
• Chris’ first time being on a podcast, and why it’s important to engage listeners in the Follower stage of The Listener Lifecycle (03:29)
• Different methods you can use to successfully engage your Followers through your show (05:12)
• The best social media strategies for engaging Followers (07:16)

To Explorers of your podcast, you are uncharted territory - possibly worth subscribing to, possibly not. The goal of this stage in The Listener Lifecycle is to make them feel at home so that hopefully, they stick around awhile. 

Join Chris as he explains how to cater to these listeners so you can effectively help them cross the threshold into the Follower stage of The Listener Lifecycle, where they will officially become a part of your growing audience. 

Show Notes:

• Chris illustrates the challenges of moving someone into the Explorer stage through poetry (00:16)
• Defining the Explorer stage and how long it lasts (02:44)
• How to befriend your listeners (04:08)
• Understanding and calculating your audience size (06:25)
• Making sense of your audience metrics and optimizing for growth (08:52)
• Converting Explorers to Followers (09:42)

Do you know how people find out about your podcast? 

No matter where people find out about your show, something about it has to make them curious enough to find out more. And when that happens, it’s important that you’re ready to feed their curiosity and turn them into a listener. That’s why this week’s episode of The Humble Podcaster is all about the Curious stage of The Listener Lifecycle. Join Chris as he explains how to attract more people to become curious about your podcast, and how to direct their attention so they’re more likely to become True Fans of your show.

Show Notes:

• Chris introduces the Curious phase of The Listener Lifecycle (00:18)
• The two things you need to achieve with your Curious listeners (01:39)
• How to prepare for Curious listeners (02:28)
• The role social media plays in this stage of The Listener Lifecycle (03:31)

"How do I grow my podcast?”

It’s the question every podcaster (besides Joe Rogan) asks themselves and anyone else who will listen. And it’s a good one, too - after all, the data available to podcasters on who’s listening to their show doesn’t tell the whole story, as you’ll find out in this episode of The Humble Podcaster. Join Chris as he explains the benefits and limitations of listener data, and presents a new way to identify your listeners and grow your show: The Listener Lifecycle.

Show Notes:

• The one major element to growth most podcasters neglect (01:19)
• Why download stats aren’t telling you the whole story (02:23)
• How the IAB vets download numbers vs true listeners (04:32)
• How can Spotify and Apple’s data help determine your true audience size? (07:36)
• The only real answer for figuring out who’s listening to your podcast (10:46)
• Chris walks through the Listener Lifecycle (12:20)

Links:

• RSS Feed Definition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS
• IAB Current Standards: https://iabtechlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/PodcastMeasurement_v2.1.pdf
• https://podcasters.apple.com/support/960-download-subscription-reports
• https://support.spotifyforpodcasters.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043989052-Listener-and-follower-data
• 1,000 True Fans: https://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/

We've made it to the end of the How To Start A Podcast series. We just have one final step: Launching your show. In this episode, we'll cover everything you need to know in order to get your podcast live and to a place where you can promote it to listeners. We cover: 

• Finding Your Launchpad (0:20)
• The "Easiest" Podcast Host? (3:21)
• Pre-Launch Checklist (5:19)
• Per-Episode Information (9:01)
• To Transcribe Or Not Transcribe? (12:21)
• Podcast Art (13:45)
• The Final Countdown (14:55)
• Two-Stage Launch (15:24)
• Orbit (17:04)
• Homework (17:33) 

Podnews Links

Podnews Podcast Directories: https://podnews.net/article/our-podcast

Podnews Search Link: https://podnews.net/search?q=

Podcast Hosts

• Omny Studio: https://omnystudio.com/
• Libsyn: https://libsyn.com/
• Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/
• Transistor: https://transistor.fm/
• Anchor: Just don’t.

Misc. Links

• Podtrac: https://analytics.podtrac.com/
• Apple Podcast Categories: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/genre/podcasts/id26
• Descript: https://www.descript.com/
• Rev: https://www.rev.com/

Design Resources

• Canva: https://www.canva.com/
• 99 Designs: https://99designs.com/

Top 10 Podcast Directories

1. Apple Podcasts
2. Spotify
3. iHeart Radio
4. Stitcher
5. Overcast
6. Castbox
7. Google Podcasts
8. Podcast Addict
9. Pocket Casts
10. Player.FM

You've got your first episode recorded, and now you're ready to get down to the business of editing. In this episode, we'll walk through my editing workflow and cover the basics behind editing podcast audio. 

We'll cover: 

• The Editing Workflow (3:04)
• Assembling Your Podcast (3:19)
• Editing Your Podcast (6:32)
• Destructive vs. Non-Destructive Editing (6:59)
• Recommended Effects / Plugins (8:18)
• 1st Editing Pass: Content (12:56)
• 2nd Editing Pass: Disfluencies (13:48)
• Review (14:47)
• Mastering (15:10)
• Loudness & LUFS (15:31)
• Homework (18:26)

Great Editing Resources

• Podcast Engineering School: https://podcastengineeringschool.com/
• Mike Russell: https://www.youtube.com/user/musicradiocreative

DAWs

• Adobe Audition: https://www.adobe.com/products/audition.html
• Logic Pro: https://www.apple.com/logic-pro/
• Pro Tools: https://www.avid.com/pro-tools
• Descript: https://www.descript.com/
• Audacity: https://www.audacityteam.org/
• Garage Band: https://www.apple.com/mac/garageband/

Plugins Mentioned

• iZotope RX 8: https://www.izotope.com/en/products/rx.html
• iZotope Ozone: https://www.izotope.com/en/products/ozone.html
• Youlean Loudness Metter: https://youlean.co/youlean-loudness-meter/
• Bonus Starter Plugin (not mentioned in show), Scheps Omni Channel: https://www.waves.com/plugins/scheps-omni-channel#presenting-scheps-omni-channel

Need editing or production support? Contact us to learn how we can help: https://www.humblepod.com/contact/

You've worked hard to get to this point. You've got a script ready, music picked out, and you're ready and raring to go. Now we just have to record... Easy, right? 

In this episode, we'll take a look (and listen) at what recording gear you'll need as well as some advice on how to record your audio. Highlights from this episode include: 

• Why quality audio is just as important as quality content (2:11)
• Podcast gear for getting started (3:44)
• Microphones! (6:34)
• Condenser vs. Dynamic Microphones (7:02)
• Polar Patterns (10:22)
• How to choose the right microphones for you (12:11)
• The 5 Rules of Recording (13:28)
• Tech Specs (17:54)
• Homework (18:29) 

Resources for this episode...

Online Podcast Recording: 

• Zencastr: https://zencastr.com/
• TryCast: https://tryca.st/
• Remotely: https://remotely.fm/

Recorders & Recording Interfaces: 

• Zoom P4: https://www.amazon.com/Zoom-Digital-Multitrack-Recorder-P4/dp/B08F8HL7T7/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=Zoom+P4&qid=1624414606&s=musical-instruments&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExWTk0NklGOUVTUkRMJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwOTQ5MTcwMVlEN0NRNlZUUVVLTyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMjc4MzA4MkFUV1RMN0c4RkhPRiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
• Rodecaster Pro: https://www.bswusa.com/Podcasting-Rode-Rodecaster-Pro-P14002.aspx
• Scarlett Solo: https://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-Scarlett-Audio-Interface-Tools/dp/B07QR6Z1JB/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=scarlett+solo&qid=1624414719&sr=8-1
• UA Apollo: https://www.bswusa.com/USB-Interfaces-Universal-Audio-APOLLO-SOLO-USB-Heritage-Edition-P15051.aspx

Microphones Mentioned: 

• ATR2100: https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATR2100-USB-Cardioid-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B004QJOZS4
• Samson Q2U: https://www.amazon.com/Samson-Microphone-Windscreen-Dimmable-Extension/dp/B08BJCR6HZ/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=samson+q2u&qid=1624414528&s=musical-instruments&sr=1-6
• Shure MV7: https://www.amazon.com/Shure-Microphone-Podcasting-Voice-Isolating-Technology/dp/B08G7RG9ML/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=shure+MV7&qid=1624412359&s=musical-instruments&sr=1-5
• Blue Yeti: https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Yeti-USB-Microphone-Blackout/dp/B00N1YPXW2/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=blue+yeti&qid=1624412400&s=musical-instruments&sr=1-3
• Electrovoice RE20: https://www.bswusa.com/Dynamic-Microphones-Electrovoice-RE20-Package-P2219.aspx
• SM7B: https://www.bswusa.com/Dynamic-Microphones-Shure-SM7B-P5269.aspx

Additional Links:  

• Recommended gain booster, the 

  Cloudlifter CL-1: https://www.amazon.com/Cloud-Microphones-CL-1-Cloudlifter-1-channel/dp/B004MQSV04/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=cloudlifter+cl-1&qid=1624414960&sr=8-5

• Podcastage: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvOU-zTlankT-JjN3ZzvuKA

Your show needs structure, and in this episode, we wrap up the last two pieces you need for creating a podcast: the body of your show and the trailer.

We cover:  

• Creating Your Trailer (0:48)
• Why you need a trailer now (1:11)
• Putting your trailer together (2:52)
• The importance of consistency (4:04)
• Structuring the body of your podcast (6:51)
• Segments for your show (7:38)
• Content for each segment (8:14)

Links Referenced: 

• Hardcore History: Addendum - https://www.dancarlin.com/addendum/ 
• "Defining authenticity" by Seth Godin - https://seths.blog/2017/10/defining-authenticity/ 
• The Hero's Journey - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey